2,000 Hands Clap At Annual Concert Of Quakertown Band

February 18, 1985|by BUZZ CRESSMAN, The Morning Call

Like many institutions and traditions, the Quakertown Band just keeps rolling along.

Under the direction of Joseph W. Blewett, the long-respected, 45-member band presented its 108th anniversary concert yesterday afternoon, and proof of its continued popularity was obvious in the attendance.

A near capacity crowd of about 1,000 people, perhaps the largest turnout in recent years, attended the concert in the Quakertown Community High School auditorium.

The band put on a varied program of diversified music, heavy on the traditional marches but with a touch of the classics, some frequently performed Broadway music and a flashback on last summer's Olympic Games.

"Olympic Fanfare and Theme" was added to "rekindle the spirit of Los Angeles," said Atty. Claire G. Biehn, the band spokesman, who described some of the other marches as "show business works" that recalled visits to the circus for many in the turnout.

No less than four of the marches were from traditional music associated with the circus including the march called "Barnum and Bailey's Favorite," "The Circus King," the familiar "Billboard March" and "Thunder and Blazes."

The program had many entertaining turns, including several that brought out the more serious side of music.

The band presentation of "Pictures at an Exhibition," a 1906 opus by Russian composer M. Moussorgsky, included seven of the work's nine pieces, which create a series of different moods for the listener reflecting titles such as "Promenade," "The Old Castle, " "Children at Play" and "Unhatched Chicks."

And the ability of the band's fine musicians was emphasized in several other numbers.

Flutist Debbie Glick, who is also a soloist with the North Penn Symphony Orchestra, performed two of the seven-part "Sentimentale" and then presented the difficult "Flight of the Bumblebee."

The band's clarinet section was featured in "Mountain Greenery," a piece that carried the names of Richard Rodgers and Richard Maltby while the French horn section, which came up for special praise, was prominent in the "American Overture for Band."

While there have been many reasons for the band's long success, the dedication of area musicians to the unit is one that is constantly pointed out.

Robert Gilkeson was recognized as the newest member of the band's distinguished "50-year club," which includes several other members. Biehn said yesterday's concert was the 60th for another member, Ralph Moyer.